It sticks in the craws of some folks that former Orange County Sheriff Mike Carona is doing 5.5 years in federal prison for witness tampering -- but is still collecting more than $218,000 a year in pension payments. (That's more than $1 million just for sitting in the slammer.)

And that former County Treasurer-Tax Collector Bob Citron pleaded guilty to six felonies nearly 20 years ago-- including misappropriating hundreds of millions of public dollars and misleading investors -- but collects about $150,000 a year as pension nonetheless.

Come Jan. 1, the new law will force public employees to forfeit pensions if they're convicted of state or federal felonies "for conduct arising out of, or in the performance of, his or her official duties." Retirement contributions made directly by said felonious employees would be returned to them, without interest.

It's designed to fix a problem that, in the big scheme of things, is infinitesimally small -- but one which creates nagging questions of fairness.

"For people elected or employed after Jan. 1, it's pretty Draconian," said Mario Mainero, law professor at Chapman University. "But it only applies those elected or employed after Jan. 1, 2013. So it won't apply to anyone who is elected in November. In a lot of ways it's a watering-down -- (Gov. Jerry) Brown's original proposal on all this was far stronger, not just on this issue, but on everything."

We sought clarification on precisely how all this will work, especially in light of the charges pending against Carlos Bustamante, former county executive and current Santa Ana city councilman (facing six felony counts of false imprisonment; three of assault with the intent to commit a sexual offense; one count each of stalking, attempted sexual battery by restraint and grand theft by false pretense); and more than a half-dozen former city officials in Bell, who are charged with dozens of counts of public corruption. Keep your eye on that Jan. 1 date -- it's quite important.

Will current employees convicted of felonies forfeit everything back to the date of the first commission of said felony, even if it's before Jan. 1, 2013?

Yes, the state Department of Finance says -- but only if the conviction comes after Jan. 1, 2013.

And what of current employees who are, say, in the criminal justice system right now, facing felony charges? If they can get convicted before Jan. 1, will they be able to skirt the new rules and keep their pensions?

Yes, the DOF says. The new rules will apply to people who are current employees on and after Jan. 1, whose convictions come after Jan. 1.

And what of those who are not currently employed as of Jan. 1? The retired felons, like Carona?

This will not apply to them, DOF says. "Does not apply to those who are not current employees on or after January 1, 2013. If an employee who retires before January 1, 2013 is convicted of a felony after that date, would not apply because that person would not have been a current employee on or after January 1, 2013. Would apply to a current employee employed on and/or after January 1, 2013 who retires after that date and is convicted of a felony after retiring."

So it appears as though Bustamante would keep the county and city benefits he has accrued, even if he is found guilty after Jan. 1 -- because he will not be currently employed by either the county or city once the new year begins (he resigned from his county job nearly a year ago and is not running for reelection to his seat on the Santa Ana council in November).

Same thing appears to be the case for for Robert Rizzo and the cast of characters from Bell. They're not current employees, so even if they're found guilty, they'll keep their pensions. Rizzo (who was originally expecting $650,000 a year) is getting $50,000, while his assistant, Angela Spaccia (who was expecting $250,000), is getting $43,000.

Now, the California Public Employees Retirement System says that revoking retirement benefits from current workers who commit crimes might not be entirely legal.

"This proposal would expand felony forfeiture provisions that currently apply to elected public officials by expanding the scope of felonies covered and by applying them to all current and future public employees," CalPERS' preliminary analysis said. "Although the Legislature has the authority to apply these provisions to newly hired public employees, application to current employees may not be constitutional in all cases. Therefore, this provision could be subject to legal challenge based on the argument that it impairs the vested rights of current members of the pension system."

Better late than never?

"It looks like this was 'red meat' thrown into the mix to address the Citrons of the world," said John Moorlach, chair of the Orange County Board of Supervisors. "However, the language does not seem to differ with my understanding of existing law. You lose the employer contribution, but keep your own."

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